Hotel Review: St. Regis Bora Bora Resort

When dreaming about staying at a particular hotel for quite some time, I often worry that my expectations are too high going in and I am setting myself up for disappointment. 

Having had some of the best hotel stays of my life in the 12 months preceding my stay at the St. Regis Bora Bora, most notably the Conrad Maldives and Le Meridien Maldives, I was curious if my high expectations would be reached. 

Unsurprisingly, the property was absolutely stunning and my stay was amazing. After all, how could someone complain about staying in an overwater villa? Here are my thoughts on the property:

This article is part of my Trip Report: Winter Holidays in French Polynesia that includes:

• Lounge Review: Delta’s New LAX SkyClub
• Inaugural Flight Celebrations on Delta LAX to Tahiti
• Flight Review: Delta Economy LAX-PPT
• Hotel Review: Hilton Tahiti Resort
• Room Review: Hilton Tahiti King Residence Suite
• Flight Review: Air Tahiti PPT-BOB 
• Hotel Review: St Regis Bora Bora Resort
• Hotel Transfer: Chartering a Private Boat in Bora Bora!
• Hotel Review: Conrad Bora Bora Nui Resort
• Room Review: Conrad Bora Bora Nui Deluxe Overwater Villa with Pool
• Day of Departure in Moorea: My Thoughts

Room

Having used points to book the St. Regis, we booked into the ‘base’ room, a Reefside Garden Villa. I added the quotes around base because this room is far from base. 

With over 2700 square feet and a private pool, the room is bigger than many people’s homes or apartments, at least on paper. In reality, I am guessing much of the space is calculated from outside because while the villa is big, it is not THAT big. 

Luckily, and I really do mean luckily, we were fortunate to be upgraded to a Deluxe Overwater Villa during our stay. The upgrade was due to Titanium Elite status with Marriott. This was surprising to me given that we were traveling during the ‘festive season,’ the week prior to Christmas. 

While the hotel did not tell us about the upgrade until check-in, our room in the Marriott app was updated 2 days prior to arrival. While, unfortunately, I never got to tour the base room for pictures, the deluxe overwater villa was easily one of my favorite rooms I have ever stayed in. 

We were assigned room 207, which is on the first pier of overwater bungalows. While it did not face Mt. Otemanu, the walk to and from the villa did. 

For starters, the room was absolutely massive, clocking in at 1,549 square feet. Upon entry into the room, there was a small hallway/foyer area with a table and mirror above. There were also two glass-floor cut outs to see the ocean below. 

Walking further down the hallway, you pass windows that face the neighboring villa, before reaching the living room. The living room had a large couch sitting next to a gorgeous glass coffee table that was situated above another glass panel that allows one to see the ocean below. 

To the right there was a desk and chair. The desk came equipped with paper, envelopes and pencils in case you need to do some work while you were on vacation. However, doing work while in such a beautiful destination might be a crime against humanity. Additionally, they provided two converters to allow us to continue to use our US chargers with their EU outlets. 

In the back of the room, below the massive windows that open out to the ocean, was a roll-away bed that they had set up for me in case I did not want to share the king bed with my father. 

In the far left corner of the room, a welcome amenity was left for us including a bottle of champagne, some macaroons and fruit, alongside still and sparkling water. A personalized letter welcomed us to this amazing property. Ah, this is the type of hospitality that I love. 

To the left of the table were sliding doors out to the back deck, but more on that later. Left of the doors was a large TV with a console that included a mini fridge (perfect for storing our welcome amenity drinks) and a small coffee maker and assortment. 

Back down the hallway there was a large entryway to the bedroom, which can be closed with a large sliding door but not completely locked shut. In the center of the room was the signature king bed. 

Not only was the bed comfortable, but I also found all of the linens to be particularly soft. On each side of the bed were the typical nightstands, left with water and glasses. Behind the bed were two lamps in the awkward space before the bathroom. 

The bed faced the back deck, which looked out over the ocean, which was a gorgeous view to wake up to each morning. There were sliding glass doors that opened up onto the deck. To the left of the doors was a red chair where they had left the TV remotes and laundry bags/instructions. To the right of the doors was another TV on a table, set up perfectly so as to not interfere with the view of the ocean. 

On each side of the bed, next to the respective nightstands, were two doors that opened up to the bathroom. While not the best designed bathroom, it was large and very nice. 

On the left side, there was a toilet room. Right outside of that door was a large hamper for towels. 

In the center of the bathroom was a large shower and separate tub. Although the shower was really nice, I found that without any curtain or glass barrier, showering in this villa often left splattered water around the bathroom. The tub was deep and perfect for a bubble bath, especially with the bath ‘table’ that had a tablet holder. 

There was yet another glass panel in the floor of the bathroom. It was awesome to be getting ready and see eagle rays swimming below. 

On the right side of the bathroom were double doors that opened into a semi-walk in the closet. I say ‘semi’ because while you may have been able to walk into it, placing our suitcases right inside inhibited us from actually entering. 

On the entry side of the bathroom were dual vanities with a makeup/sitting area in the middle. There were plenty of toiletries throughout the bathroom. Some reusable, such as the shower soap, and others such as the body cream, not so much. 

In between the two mirrors were mini sliding doors that opened up to views over the bed and to the back deck. You were able to shower and look out the window at the ocean. 

Outside the sliding doors to the deck was the highlight of the unit. The main area of the back deck had two comfortable loungers, as well as a storage locker, possibly for blow up toys. Out to the left there was a covered seating area with a table, perfect for morning drinks.

Down the steps was a small deck area with a ladder leading to the water. More realistically, it was used to get up out of the water after jumping off the deck. Further, there is a shower on this platform to rinse off after your dip.

Although our unit did not have a pool or hot tub, it was, without a doubt, one of my favorite hotel rooms where I have ever stayed. The back deck is where I chose to spend the majority of my time.

Property

The property at the St. Regis was absolutely breathtaking, but I would venture to say that it would be hard to find a property in Bora Bora that is not breathtaking, it’s the magic of the location. From the moment we stepped off the boat onto the resort, the views of Mt. Otemanu were amazing as was the crystal clear water surrounding the property. 

Just up from the arrival dock was the lobby. While not anything super special, it was a well made location and the addition of a Christmas tree (kind of) was a nice touch. Outside the lobby were two paths: one led to the concierge desk and lounge area. Inside is where we often played pool after dinner. 

The other path leads guests past the Robert Wan store where you can buy black pearls, and it also leads to some of the restaurants and the pool area adjacent to the main beach.

There are a number of restaurants on the property. Bamboo, with Asian cuisine, had really good sushi and was one of my favorite restaurants. Bamboo shared an outdoor restaurant space with Far Niente, which meant that most nights only one of the two were open. 

Far Niente is an Italian restaurant that has all the necessities including pizza and pasta. I was very happy to find that they had gluten free options for both of these types of very glutenous dishes. 

The Pahu restaurant is located next to the pool and has stunning views of the ocean. This is where not only breakfast was held, but also any special nights such as Indian night or Polynesian night, which often had live music and were quite enjoyable to watch.

The final restaurant, and their signature restaurant, is the Lagoon restaurant by Jean-Georges. Located next to the 727 bar, facing Mt. Otemanu and over the crystal waters of Bora Bora. It was not only a beautiful setting, but had absolutely amazing food. 

The pool was quite large and had multiple depth levels allowing one to lounge in a recliner or get fully submerged. Another great part of the pool was its proximity to the beach. This meant that whether you were seated at the pool or on the beach, you could easily use both. 

The beach was amazing with chairs that were perfectly set up and white sand leading down to the sparkling water. I will say that my only complaint about the beach was how rocky it was, but clearly, the St. Regis has far less control over this. 

Going down the path toward the overwater bungalows, we were tempted to stop every few seconds to snap a pic of the breathtaking views and world around us. Closer to the two overwater piers was an adults only pool area, which I found to be quite unique. 

There were five or so cabanas, which were directly next to a closed off “private” pool section. As you walk down the private pool section, you find that it is connected to the main pool with a small divider wall in between. 

While this area was gorgeous, I found it oddly worn down. There were countless tiles that had chipped off and could feel loose tiles below my feet. The condition of the pool I found quite surprising n. That said, I don’t ever think I ever saw another guest there. 

The other path that led away from the lobby took you to the far-less-busy side of the island. This is where the fitness center was located. Nicely finished with water views, the fitness center did its job but was nothing particularly impressive.

I actually found that it was rather on the small side. As you would expect, there was always water and towels available for guests, as well as earbuds available for your workout. 

Outside the gym was one of my favorite amenities, the tennis court. We often started our day with a tennis match and found that it is far too hot to play under the sun at any other point in the day. It was also super easy to reserve the court with the concierge or our butler. There were balls and rackets at the front desk for guests. 

My only complaint about the court was how sandy it was, which made me slide around quite a bit when running for balls. 

On that side of the resort was also where the spa was located, which, to no surprise, was absolutely amazing. My favorite aspect was that there was no requirement for guests to actually get treatments in order to use the spa’s facilities. 

The men’s side had the typical findings, showers, lockers and plenty of amenities ranging from mouthwash to cotton swabs. Additionally, there was also a sauna, steam room and hot tub on the back deck, as well as a relaxing lounge area with teas and little snacks. I took full advantage of these facilities, and I don’t think I ever saw anyone else in the men’s side. 

In the back of the spa was a large grass yard with absolutely stunning views of Mt. Otemanu over the lagoonarium. This is the area where sunset yoga, as well as other events were held. There were also some lounge seats near the water that were perfect for ordering an afternoon snack fromthe spa’s healthy menu. 

One of the biggest highlights of the property, if not the best aspect, was the lagoonarium. Half natural and half manmade (they put nets on either side to prevent fish from swimming in or out), this massive area with crystal crystal clear water made you feel as if you were swimming in your own private aquarium. 

There was coral and gorgeous fish everywhere you turned. The water was so clear that during fish-feeding, an event the resort offers a few times a week, you did not even have to enter the water to see all the fish swimming around. 

As someone who does not like snorkeling that much, the lagoonarium is not something that you would want to miss at the St. Regis. Not only was it massive in size, but I maybe saw one or two people actually swim in it the entire time we were there. 

Service

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left, the service was nothing but absolutely perfect. When we arrived at the Bora Bora airport, we were greeted with leis and water before being escorted to the boat with our luggage carried for us. 

Getting off the boat, our butler, Chloé, introduced herself and led us to check in. Everyone was incredibly friendly and professional. The hospitality was next level and arguably the best I have ever experienced. After answering all of our questions, leading us to our room, and showing us around it, Chloé was always one call away and ready to help. 

She would often find us in the morning to check in on our stay and see if we needed anything. She truly personalized the service and made the experience better than other properties where we have stayed that offered a similar service. 

Even before we arrived, she had made dinner reservations for us for all of the nights of our stay. When we wanted to switch, there was no issue and she was able to arrange for an earlier time than when we directly asked the restaurant. 

The butler service was next level and included morning beverages brought to your villa. Ranging from tea to hot chocolate and coffee, a few mornings it was nice to sit on the back deck with our drinks. Having them in bed would have also been enjoyable, but we were trying to soak up our outdoor time as much as possible before returning to the cold. 

Not only was Chloé amazing, but so were the entire staff. There were times when we would be walking somewhere and someone would say “good evening/morning Mr. Turner” despite not having interacted with them previously. It was this level of service that really set the St. Regis apart from other hotels. 

A classic aspect of St. Regis service is also their nightly champagne sabering. It was definitely a treat to watch the sun go down at the beautiful 727 bar looking at Mt. Otemanu. The only odd thing was that at the final sabering of the trip, they did not give out any champagne, instead requiring guests pay for it.

Even at the restaurants, the staff always started by explaining the gluten free options without me having mentioned that I was gluten free. If you got up from the table, you would come back to find your napkin folded on the arm rest. It was that level of service.

Everyone always seemed so happy to be helping and conversations with staff made the experience quite enjoyable. It was fun to see what people thought about living in paradise 24/7. 

Breakfast was no exception. Always happy to greet and seat us, the breakfast staff was just as cheery. In addition to the breakfast buffet, you could also order off of the main menu, which was included in the price. 

After being seated, we first ordered our drinks, almost always opting for the fresh juice of the day, followed by placing our orders including eggs, gluten free toast, pancake or crepe orders (I was impressed). Then we headed to the buffet to get started before our main dishes arrived from the kitchen. 

It was an amazing breakfast experience and the price tag matched. After conversion ~$55 a person was on the steeper side. Luckily, with Marriott Titanium status we were able to pick two free breakfasts per stay as our welcome choice amenity. This saved us an insane $550 over the course of the stay. 

The last thing I want to mention is the free rentals that were offered at the property. For starters, every villa was assigned multiple bikes for guests to usearound the property. They really were needed with the sheer size of the grounds. It was also fun to be able to bike to and from dinner. 

In addition to the bikes, non-motorized sports equipment was free for use. We took full advantage of the paddle boards and kayaks, which were fun little excursions. 

One thing I did find interesting, however, was the turndown service. Still including classic touches like leaving bedside water and slippers, housekeeping always left body oil on our pillows every night. Definitely a spin on the typical chocolate option though.

Booking

This property was a challenging one to book on points, but I am very happy that I did. Before the Marriott devaluation, I was able to lock in a 5 night stay from December 18th through the 23rd for 340,000 Marriott points.

While a lot of points, I was very happy to find and book standard-date award availability for the time period I wanted. Before the devaluation, when Marriott still had their award chart, standard dates came to 85,000 points per night. Additionally, I was able to maximize their 5th night free perk since we were staying 5 nights, or more realistically, this is the reason we stayed 5 nights. 

Actually, one of the nights was coded as off-peak, meaning that it was only 70k points. However, since Marriott makes your cheapest night free, it did not make a difference in terms of cost. 

In order to lock in the dates that I wanted, I made sure to book a year in advance, back in early January 2022 for this December trip. At the time, I did not have enough Bonvoy points, so I made the reservation as a points advance, which locks in the award space but not the price. 

Within a month, I gained enough Marriott points and locked in the reservation with a quick call. 

Compared to the cash cost of the stay, this was a fantastic redemption. A 5 night stay in the garden reefside villa that I booked would have come to $8,061 for our desired dates, however, it ended up even better than that. This means that I got a redemption value of 2.4 cents per point, very high for Marriott. 

Unsurprisingly, the upgrade we received made the redemption even more valuable. While I cannot find a screenshot of the price for the Deluxe Overwater Bungalow that we stayed in, the price fell somewhere in the $14,000-15,000 range for the 5 night stay, which very accurately matches current pricing.

The cost of $14,500 for a 5 night stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora for a grand total of 340,000 brings the redemption value to an astonishing 4.3 cents per point, which is absolutely amazing for Marriott points. 

Without a doubt, this is one of my best, if not my best, Marriott redemptions to date. It will be very hard to beat. 

Now that Marriott has dynamic pricing, it will often come to more than this price. Looking through the calendar right now, it seems that the base room hovers somewhere around 120,000 points per night, which would bring a 5 night stay’s cost to 480,000 points. Although this is a lot, if you have the points, it is undeniably a valuable redemption.

The Last Point

If you have made it to this point in the article, you’re a trooper. But every word written was deserved. This property has rightfully won its place as one of the top 3 hotels where I have ever stayed. 

The service was next level and with the combination of the truly gorgeous property, it was an unforgettable experience. All of the food was excellent, and everything was done perfectly to the tiniest details. 

I am very happy with my use of Marriott points for this stay and hope that someday I can return to this paradise. When people say that Bora Bora is THE bucket list destination, I now know what they mean.